I apparently have a slight leak around the seal between the top half and lower half of the reservoir for my power steering pump.......according to the Volvo Dealer these reservoirs have a tendency to leak around the seam. The other option could be the screw top to the reservoir is not sealing properly anymore. The leak is not real bad but just coats the outside of the reservoir and thought I'd fix it. At my local Volvo Dealer Parts Depart the screw top alone is $18 and the complete reservoir with screw top is $66 and that's with my 15% discount. I looked on swedishautoparts.com and the OEM reservoir with the screw top is $57......a little cheaper than the Dealer's price. I hate to spend that much money for a plastic container......wonder why Volvo didn't design it to be one complete piece instead of two halfs glued together. My questions: Anyone had experience with the screw top being the problem;, or if the lead is usually the reservoir, is there a way to put some type of sealant compound around the seam of the reservoir without removing it or the fluid which will stop the leaking.........I could clean the reservoir real well so that a sealant would adhere. Maybe some of that stuff advertised on TV by the guy with the beard which supposedly can seal or glue anything and even hold super heavy weight!? Seriously, maybe that stuff would work?

 

Before doing that clean it real good then if the small hose that connects to the top check and see if is still has the factory clamp. If it does remove that one and install a screw clamp and see if the leak stops.

 

Okay, I know it does have the factory clamp.........I'll remove it and install a new small hose clamp and see what that does. I didn't think it was that clamp because the fluid is on both sides of the reservoir and that hose is only on the back side.....didn't think the fluid would be on both sides? And the fluid is on the bottom half of the reservoir, i.e., below the seam. Thanks for the advice.

 

You might also want to replace the lower clamp if that is original as well.

Both connections are know to leak.

 

Got it......thanks!

 

Please let me know the outcome.

 

Sure, glad to. By the way, is there a drainage orafice on the rack to drain the power steering fluid from the system? I've been thinking I should drain and put new fluid in the system with the vehicle now at 115,000 mileage......or do I need to take it to a Volvo shop to flush the system with special equipment?

 

The small hose at the bottle is a return line from the rack you can crank the motor over and drain the system through that hose.

Fill the bottle and crank it up for a few seconds then shut it off and top it up again and do it again till it is all new fluid.

 

Wow, that's a pretty simple process.........thanks!

 

I checked the hoses again and didn't see any seepage coming from those connections. So, since I wanted to replace the power steering fluid anyway, I went ahead and bought the new replacement reservoir with new cap at my Volvo Parts Dept today and performed the work this afternoon. I first used a bulb extractor to empty the fluid from the reservoir, and then I cranked the engine over short bursts to get more fluid into the reservoir and then removed it.........did that about three times. Then I removed the hoses from the old reservoir and reinstalled the hoses with new hose clamps onto the new reservoir and added new Volvo power steering fluid a couple times. Bottomline: I concluded it was worth it to me to spend the $66 for the new reservoir and cap and replace the fluid and hose caps in one operation and be done with it. The new cap on the new reservoir has a much tighter closure to it than my old one........so maybe it was the old cap that was causing the fluid to get on the old reservoir.......who knows for sure but it's definitly fixed now!

 

Glad it is fixed now.

 

mine is a little oily around the cap. i thought what caused it was it might have been overfilled once. level seems fine but i should probably do what tech said to change the fluid. i don't know the service life of P.S. fluid but probably similar to ATF or brake fluid when it comes to service intervals. i guess i'll grab a cap at the same time.

 

Yes, I would try a new cap first. The cap alone at Volvo Dealer Parts is $18 (with my 15% discount). If you're pretty sure your reservoir is not leaking, then just get the cap. Otherwise, you could buy the reservoir that comes with the cap for $66 and try just the cap. If the reservoir is also leaking you've got a new one to install. If you then want to return the reservoir, you could then buy a new cap and put it on the new reservoir and return it to get your $66 refund. Otherwise, if you buy just the cap and then realize you also need a new reservoir, you'll be stuck with another new cap and paid $18 plus $66. Just an idea to think about. Also, the Volvo Power Steering Fluid is $28.......not cheap compared to what you can get at AdvanceAutoParts but I didn't want to take a chance and mix the cheap stuff with the existing Volvo stuff. Finally, I had to use some strong pliers to remove the existing OEM clamps from the two hoses and then a small screw driver to pry the hoses off the existing reservoir.........have to be careful to not damage the hoses when doing this. These hoses are expensive if they have to be replaced.....Parts guy at Volvo said top one was $80-something. Also need to be careful not to over-tighten the new hose clamps onto the new reservoir.......I use a minature socket wrench.